For Peter, the father of the deceased child and a member of a Mennonite community in West Texas, the death of his child was God’s will. Many in the Mennonite communities of Texas and across the United States do not vaccinate their children, and their anti-vaccination stance is in line with their general religiously informed practice of eschewing modernity and its technological advances. But it is not merely the few sectarian Mennonite communities that still exist in the United States that have taken a stance against vaccination. Mainstream evangelical and charismatic congregations that embrace much of the modern world have also embraced anti-vaccination beliefs. This episode explores the relationship between conservative Christianity, anti-vaccination beliefs, and contemporary right-wing politics.

Sources:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/03/texas-measles-outbreak-death-family/681985/

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/03/24/too-good-for-this-earth-parents-of-child-who-died-in-measles-outbreak-say-no-to-vaccine/

https://www.christianitytoday.com/2013/09/measles-outbreak-megachurch-kenneth-copeland-vaccines/

https://www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217746942/texas-megachurch-at-center-of-measles-outbreak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUGuJkVgXNA

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kenneth-copeland-blow-coronavirus-pray-sermon-trump-televangelist-a9448561.html

https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2025/03/04/west-texans-mennonites-at-center-of-measles-outbreak-choose-medical-freedom-over-vaccine-mandates/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/12/measles-vaccinations-texas-pastor-revels-in-schools-state-low-rates/81975293007/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many years, the threat of measles, a deadly disease that spreads more rapidly than COVID and regularly took thousands of lives a year, had been effectively eradicated in the United States due to the widespread acceptance of vaccination. The death of a child from measles in West Texas was the first in over a decade and it came as a shock to the American medical establishment that is now grappling with a disturbing reality: the chief public health bureaucrat is a bonafide anti-vaxxer. This episode will explore the genealogy of anti-vaccination beliefs in the United States and how they spread into mainstream politics.

Sources:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1200696/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8802588/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1123944/

https://time.com/7205900/anti-vaccination-movement-history/

https://historyofvaccines.org/getting-vaccinated/vaccine-faq/vaccination-exemptions

https://historyofvaccines.org/blog/timeline-of-vaccination-mandates

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-68106-1_2

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/rfk-jr-plandemic-funding-1235173801/

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-02/rand-paul-on-vaccines-most-of-them-ought-to-be-voluntary-

https://time.com/5175704/andrew-wakefield-vaccine-autism/

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-evidence-on-vaccines-and-autism

https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-bombastic-19th-century-anti-vaxxer-who-fueled-montreals-smallpox-epidemic/

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/plague-the-red-death-strikes-montreal-feature

https://www.cascadepbs.org/2020/05/seattle-always-had-anti-vaxxers-even-during-smallpox

https://www.cascadepbs.org/mossback/2025/02/history-vaccine-skepticism-1920s-seattle-rfk-jr

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The viral measles outbreak that began in West Texas has taken the lives of two children and one adult, and has reached over eight hundred cases, with thousands potentially exposed to the disease. This episode serves as a deep dive into the outbreak, when it started, how it spread, and will set the stage for the remaining four episodes.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/05/20/measles-updates-texas-cases-pass-700-as-illness-reported-in-30-states/

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-measles-outbreak-in-west-texas-and-beyond

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2025/03/24/data-these-charts-show-how-measles-vaccination-rates-declined-in-texas-public-schools/

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/03/24/too-good-for-this-earth-parents-of-child-who-died-in-measles-outbreak-say-no-to-vaccine/

https://www.verywellhealth.com/measles-outbreak-texas-11682808

https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8828106/

https://www.latimes.com/newsletters/la-me-ln-essential-california-20190507-story.html

https://slate.com/technology/2025/04/measles-cases-epidemic-worst-case-vaccine.html

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/rfk-jr-plandemic-funding-1235173801/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Margaret reads you a story about what it takes to break from society in disgust.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.

1. Reportback from the West Bank

2. The LA Anti-ICE Protests

3. Migrant Detention in Libya
4. On The Ground In LA

5. Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #20

You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today!

http://apple.co/coolerzone

Sources/Links:

The LA Anti-ICE Protests

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/09/democrats-california-new-york-detention-facilities

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigrants-at-ice-check-ins-detained-and-held-in-basement-of-federal-building-in-los-angeles/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=828415694

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-los-angeles-immigration-protests-trump/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/paramount-california-home-depot-protest-rcna211650

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kv1lgdpkjo

Migrant Detention in Libya

https://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean

https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/61570/libyas-coast-guard-has-intercepted-and-returned-nearly-21000-migrants-in-2024

https://apnews.com/article/italy-libya-ossama-almasri-icc-arrest-hague-305b5eed193ef7774e6591d4f0a256fc 



European Commission Financial Transparency System
Andrea Beck, 2024

Italian and EU Funding of the Libyan Coast Guard: How Italian External Border Immigration Policies Have Created Crimes Against Humanity, Public Ignorance, and Legal Accountability Issues

Ronald Bruce. Libya: From Colony to Revolution

Ship of Humanity: Witness to Rescue in the Mediterranean by Judith Sunderland

Capitivity, Migration and Power in Libya. Nadia Al-Dayel, Aaron Anfinson & Graeme Anfinson 2021.

Tilley: War Making and State Making as organized crime

Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #20

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gang get together to discuss state violence in Los Angeles, tariffs, the Trump-Musk breakup and more ICE raids across the country.

Sources:

https://www.kpbs.org/news/public-safety/2025/05/19/san-diegos-highest-paid-city-employees-cops-racking-up-overtime-and-earning-over-400-000

https://www.nilc.org/resources/how-calif-dl-records-shared-with-dhs/

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-detained-buona-forchetta-employees

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/expedited-removal

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/04/nx-s1-5422248/trump-steel-aluminum-50-tariffs-double-prices

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-trump-says-he-will-set-unilateral-tariff-rates-within-weeks-200619527.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2025/06/02/immigration-restrictions-pile-up-on-international-students/

https://apnews.com/article/international-students-visas-trump-guidance-social-media-a1f5180ce83560aff66dd65534906697

https://apnews.com/article/international-students-visas-trump-guidance-social-media-a1f5180ce83560aff66dd65534906697

https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/minneapolis-lake-street-law-enforcement-ice-homeland-security/

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/03/elon-musk-trump-white-house-relationship

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/elon-musk-privately-expresses-frustration-range-recent-moves/story?id=122485920

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/us/politics/elon-musk-trump-doge.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/30/2025-02009/protecting-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/09/nx-s1-5427998/trump-travel-ban-countries-immigration-enforcement

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James talks to Robert about the LA protests after spending Monday night on the ground in DTLA covering the protests and police response.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James is joined by Mick to talk about the horrific conditions migrants face in Libya and the EU’s funding of detention camps.

Sources:

https://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean

https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/61570/libyas-coast-guard-has-intercepted-and-returned-nearly-21000-migrants-in-2024

https://apnews.com/article/italy-libya-ossama-almasri-icc-arrest-hague-305b5eed193ef7774e6591d4f0a256fc 



European Commission Financial Transparency System
Andrea Beck, 2024

Italian and EU Funding of the Libyan Coast Guard: How Italian External Border Immigration Policies Have Created Crimes Against Humanity, Public Ignorance, and Legal Accountability Issues

Ronald Bruce. Libya: From Colony to Revolution

Ship of Humanity: Witness to Rescue in the Mediterranean by Judith Sunderland

Capitivity, Migration and Power in Libya. Nadia Al-Dayel, Aaron Anfinson & Graeme Anfinson 2021.

Tilley: War Making and State Making as organized crime

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.